


Life and Times of Hijikata Tenko

by Gumihou



Category: Gintama
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Genderbending, M/M, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:42:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumihou/pseuds/Gumihou
Summary: Crack treated seriously.What would Hijikata Toshirou really be like if he had been born a woman? What kind of determination would it take for a woman to become the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi during the amanto infested Edo Era?This story explores the life of one Hijikata Tenko.
Relationships: Hijikata Tenko/Sakata Gintoki, Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	1. The Demon Pig Vice-Commander

“Yo, Fatso.”

“Ah?” Hijikata Tenko glared up from the corner of her eyes at the person who had called her. No one else around that fit that ‘Fatso’ remark better than her after all. “What do you want?”

A gorgeous woman with long purple hair. Tall, slim and beautiful sneered down at Hijikata from the end of her nose. Not that it was difficult to look down on Tenko, she was shorter than most women, weight about 130 kilos and had triple chins.

Purple Hair smirked. “Stay away from Gin-chan, you hear me bitch?”

“Tch, whatever.” This was getting old, for some reason women she had never seen before kept popping up to give her shovel talk or whatever. It’s not Hijikata’s fault if these bitches were so insecure that they’d target her just because that perm head liked to harass her now and then. There was no point in explaining things to them, women who were crazy enough to become obsessed with that crazy dog were already crazy bitches themselves.

Tenko made to walk around Purple Hair, and found herself stopped by a blade under the chin. An actual kunai for goodness sake. On the other hand, “Take your weapon away, bitch.” Tenko snarled, cocking the pistol she had shoved against that woman’s crotch for emphasis. Perks of being short.

“You…”

“I won’t hesitate to shoot, also, you’re obstructing police work. Now get out of my way.” Hijikata had a way of lowering the register of her voice from threatening to menacing that sent shivers down people’s neck.

Instead of being intimidated, Purple Head actually laughed. She withdrew her kunai, twirled it once and skipped backwards, away from the gun. The muzzle of the gun followed her movement automatically. Hijikata had trained herself to shoot without conscious aiming, she could shoot from the waist and hit five targets accurately all five times. To control those blasted subordinates of hers, all those sword swinging men with too much testosterone in their veins, she had to be better than the best at something.

Especially Mitsuba’s little brother. That blasted crazy bazooka toting bastard seemed to have something against her or something. Blasted Okitas and their overly talented genes.

“Vice-Commander!” Hijikata tipped her head in acknowledgement, never taking her eyes away from Purple Hair until the woman leapt backwards and flipped towards the roof. Tch, bloody show off. She fired two shots, the sharp metallic pings of bullets hitting kunai ringing in her ears as she turned to look at the person calling her. “Ah?”

“We found the missing goods, it’s down by the dock.” Yamazaki panted.

Seeing him panting caused an itch to rise up in Hijikata’s throat, and she deftly lit up a cigarette, inhaled the nicotine into her lungs, letting it linger before blowing it out in a controlled breath. “And the perp?”

“Tied up and guarded by the others now. Captain Okita is in charge of the lot.”

“Good, let’s wrap things up.” She could always count on Mitsuba to take control of a situation.

The group of thugs had been tied up and were now forced to sit in a circle awaiting judgement from the higher-ups. Hijikata’s job would conclude the moment she handed them over to the system to be processed.

“Vice-Commander,” Okita Mitsuba called out cheerfully.

Hijikata raised a hand in acknowledgement.

“Bitch! Fatso! Demon Pig Vice-Commander!” Here we go again, Hijikata rolled her eyes. It’s always the same, ‘Pig’, ‘Demon Pig’, ‘Fatso’. Can’t they come up with anything new?

“Shut up!” It’s cute how her subordinates defended her. The normally unassuming Yamazaki actually kicked one of the more vocal ones. Which was appreciated but unnecessary.

“Get these punks out of my sight,” Hijikata said, rolling her eyes.

“Yo, Hijikata-san,” The world’s most annoying voice sounded in her ear and the gun reflexively appeared in her hand. “Sougo,” she said shortly, “go and assist Captain Okita.”

“Yes, yes,” Okita Sougo was the real power behind Captain Okita Mitsuba’s position and everyone knew it, except perhaps Okita Mitsuba, who was always talking about how laid back and unambitious Sougo was. As if!

“Oh, by the way,” Okita Sougo made a show of ‘remembering something’ and smirked at Hijikata. “Your boyfriend’s here.”

Hijikata clenched her teeth on the butt of her cigarette and sighed inwardly. “Ignore the stalker, go and do your job.”

“Sure, Hijikata-san~”

Hijikata sucked in another desperate lungful of nicotine and felt her pulse stabilized.

“Yo, Demon Vice-Commander.”

Smoke snorted out through her nose. For some reason, the presence of this blasted mop-top always rattled her nerves. Spitting out the cigarette, she stomped it underfoot. Then, she flashed a glare from the side up at the annoying face topped by annoying curly hair. Her way of intimidating people waaay taller than her.

That vagrant actually had the temerity to blush!


	2. The Great Annoyance

“Sakata,” Hijikata did not do something as crass as rub her forehead, that would be admitting weakness. “What do you want?”

“Oh nothing,” the vagrant drawled, “just curious to see how our taxes are made use of.”

“Feast your eyes as much as you like, but stay out of our way.” Hijikata pointedly did not look at the permy head idiot.

“Ne, ne, Tenko-chan~ why don’t we go for a drink-”

Bang!

Sakata Gintoki froze. A line of blood flowed down the tip of his left ear. Hijikata was not even looking at him when she fired the gun!!

Gintoki, “… … that is so cool!”

“I’m leaving,” Hijikata grounded out through clenched teeth. “Stay away or I’ll shoot one of your nuts off.” She turned and stomped away, lighting another cigarette to calm her blood. Bloody fucking-

“Did you see dat ass?” 

“Yeah, I see it.” drawled someone. It was the yato girl, Kagura, currently picking her nose diligently as though mining for gold.

Hijikata resisted the urge to do something stupid like cover her butt with her hands or something equally pointless. So she has a big ass, so what? It’s plenty cushion when she had to sit and do paperwork with nobody but Mitsuba to assist her.

“Gin-san, maybe you should cool it a little?” That sensible voice had to belong to glasses guy, Shinpachi. Their local straight man.

“But, I just want to-”

Hijikata mentally blocked the rest of that sentence.

Sighhhhh….

Hijikata Tenko knew that she did not fit the typical mould of female beauty. She was neither tall nor slim, and she curved in all the wrong places. But, for some reason, Yorozuya suddenly started pursuing her as though he had been cursed or poisoned by some kind of love related accident token thing... Actually, considering the fact that this was Yorozuya, it was entirely possible that might be it.

The other possible reason for his sudden attention would be a bet. She of all people would know about going all out for bets. She and Sougo were practically addicts to the thrill of betting by now… Speaking of Sougo, Hijikata wouldn’t put it past him to use this tactic to cause her blood pressure to shoot up. Just because they both worked well together doesn’t mean they get along well. The only thing they both really care about was Mitsuba and money. Screw honour and all that samurai crap, Hijikata Tenko is more interested in maximising efficiency for the sake of money.

“Tch,” the only reason why she would even work with the government was because of Kondou-san who had gotten into his head that protecting the shogunate was something noble. She could probably make more money as a lawyer or something. Considering the amount of paperwork she had to do for the Shinsengumi, they might as well be paying her twice the amount she’s getting.

… that’s an idea actually. Tenko tapped her finger against the holster of her pistol thoughtfully. They could bump up one of the girls under Yamazaki and give her a title of some sort. Clerks are pretty highly paid nowadays. Might as well screen through them as see who has a good eye for detail and hire them for real. There was no reason why Tenko had to go through reams of paperwork alone every bloody fucking day…

Lighting another cigarette, Hijikata stepped up next to Mitsuba and watched as the culprits were carted away. Nearly a third of Shinsengumi was made up of women. The special police branch was especially tasked with information gathering, covert operations and surgical strikes. She and Mitsuba occupied two of the highest spots, whereas the rest act as spies and information gatherers under Yamazaki and Iida. It's too bad that most women with powerful fighting skills were with the Hyakka... speaking of which, Purple Hair must be one of them.

Hijikata ranked number two in the Shinsengumi due to her sheer power, skill and determination. Mitsuba was made Captain because her younger brother refused to be in a higher position than her. That did not mean the younger Okita has any less influence than Mitsuba. In fact, that little brat often did things in the name of ‘Captain Okita’ to get things to go his way.

Whatever, Hijikata allowed the power play. Mitsuba has a nicer face for politics, something which was needed since Kondou-san was a little lacking in the negotiation department. One thing that both Okitas shared was the inherent skill for negotiations.

Mitsuba smiled at Hijikata. “Was that Gin-chan?”

“Aa,” Hijikata muttered.

“He certainly is persistent.”

“Like a bloody fly on a pie.”

“Well, I did hear that he likes sweet things.”

“Then, he should be going after you. I’m the opposite of sweet.” Hijikata grumped.

Mitsuba laughed gently, “Oh, but I think Tenko-chan is really sweet.”

Hijikata did not have to look around to see the others coughing pointedly into their hands. She rolled her eyes at Mitsuba’s obviously biased and broken headed comment. “Enough chitchat, let’s wrap this up and get a move on.”

Mitsuba has a habit of complimenting her, especially her eyes, sharp blue and brilliant enough to cut through steel was her exact words. Hijikata had been a pretty child, but what did looks get her? Nothing but jealousy and spite of others. Girls are the worst sometimes and Hijikata had enough of being a woman that fits into a society. Let society fit around her, she had had enough trying to fit in.

Sucking in another breath of nicotine, she got into the squad car. The whole car sank as she put her weight in, but the rest of the people inside pretended they didn’t notice. Which was nice, but unnecessary. Hijikata Tenko bordered on obese, she and everyone knew it.

Whatever, she was swift, efficient and methodical. She gets the job done and done well. No one could climb over her head because she was better than the rest of them. That’s right, thought Hijikata, just line up behind me and stare at my fat ass until you’re actually better than me.

To be honest, there had been the odd guy who likes the ‘debusen’ type who would pursue her, only to be put off by her powerful personality. The only anomaly was that Yorozuya guy. It was as though the more abusive and dismissive Hijikata was, the more excited the man became.

Was he an M by chance?

An M with weird taste?

Whatever, nothing to do with her. She was the part of the police and Yorozuya was… Yorozuya, they shouldn’t even cross each other’s path that often. Today’s meeting happened because they were operating near the Kabukicho. All she had to do was stay away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The money thing came from the Soul Swap Arc where Hijikata was stuck in Gintoki’s body. One of the first things he did to take control of the Yorozuya was to pay the employees. Money is power, and Hijikata understood this much. Tenko might be a little more money-obsessed though…


	3. The Host Club Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, ah, are you into plus size girls?"

Unfortunately, staying away was easier said than done.

There was only so much dock stakeout and flashy drug bust that the Shinsengumi had to take care of. The rest of the time was petty crimes and patrolling. Because all the really fun jobs were given to the men-only groups. Hijikata shrugged this off, hey, whatever, less paperwork on her table. Everyone was paid the same anyway. She had checked.

“We must help Otae-san!” plus, Kondou-san’s current obsession was working at the Kabukichou area.

Technically, this was a Yorozuya related job.

Hijikata Tenko has a love-hate relationship with Yorozuya related jobs. On the one hand, while these jobs often started out mildly, more often than not, it would eventually explode into something huge and exciting. Meaning Hijikata got to shoot people dead and not get into trouble. She had even brought her small tanto for luck. She rarely gets to stab people.

It was a good thing she brought weapons with her because though this job appeared to be filling in for an understaffed host club. It was actually some Amanto related job where they had to neutralize a bunch of hostiles through a chemical bath of some sort. The Yorozuya crew had been hired as part of the staff to control the situation. Not that ‘control’ and ‘Yorozuya’ had much in common unless it was phrased in the negative. 

To be honest, Yorozuya’s plan was not bad, most of the Amanto frequented a particular host club and rumour has it they were planning to come in for a big bash of some sort. The main problem with Yorozuya’s plan was, well, Yorozuya’s tendency to attract trouble.

Anyway, the host club belonged to a friend of Otae, and naturally, Kondou-san could not help but be useful to the woman he loved. Of course, when Kondou-san was pulled in, the rest of the Shinsengumi came as a set too.

That was all well and good, the main trouble Hijikata was facing now was something quite different…

“Why do I have to wear this?”

“Well hello to you too, Fatty.” Kagura sniggered, speaking directly to Hijikata’s tummy.

“It’s a host club, so you got to look like you fit in,” Shinpachi said reasonably.

“In an ill-fitting suit?” Hijikata slapped her stomach, and one of the buttons exploded, nearly taking out one of the yato’s eye. Wow, she’s brilliantly accurate even when she didn’t try.

“Watch it!”

The rest of the buttons pinged off, leaving her with a sagging pouch over a straining pair of pants. Hijikata resisted the urge to sigh, her pants probably couldn’t take it. This was why she preferred to wear yukata on her off days. Yukata could be adjusted for summer weight loss, winter weight gain, and water retention through the inevitable monthly thing.

“Why are you so huge?” Karuga asked. She had recovered from the near hit and there was no malice in her voice, just curiosity.

“Bad diet.” was all Hijikata was going to say about it. “Whatever, I can’t wear this, just give me a yukata or something, even a dress would be better, I’ll just be a client. A client also fits in a host club, right?”

“Oh, right, brilliant idea!” Shinpachi exclaimed.

“Here, you can wear this.” Kagura helpfully supplied her with a white kimono with a blue swirling pattern on the edg-

“Hey! Isn’t this your boss’ clothes?” Hijikata held the offending garment away with the muzzle of her gun. Eww, she actually touched it…

“Sorry, everything else here is either too tight or, you know very revealing,” Shinpachi said apologetically. “Although I did see a police officer costume that might fit you.”

Hijikata said, “Bring it here.” It was probably one of those costume things, with short skirts. Whatever, she didn’t really care about people seeing her legs, so…

The policewoman’s costume was very short and tight. If it had been summer, she might have fit in, but it’s getting to autumn now… somebody stuck their head in and called, “Hurry up!”  
Hijikata looked at her two choices: A super tight policewoman outfit vs Sakata’s protagonist autumn kimono…  
Well, if she was supposed to be a customer, she might as well looked like a proper one…

000000

Kondou and the rest were already in place. Okita was busy entertaining the female clients that happened to wander in while Mitsuba had the job of welcoming customers and scanning their ID. Hijikata was supposed to play security in a non-descriptive black uniform along with Kondou, but she was late. It was not like her to be less than absolutely efficient and he was getting a little worried.

“Hey, where’s your Demon Vice-Commander?” Sakata Gintoki elbowed Kondou. Sakata was in a black and white outfit with his white curls slicked back. He looked eager to see Tenko-chan again. Kondou had a feeling that he just liked to tease the Demon Pig of Shinsengumi. Not something that he approved, but if Tenko really did not like Sakata, she could stomp the man’s spine out, so Kondou was not too worried. Also, he kind of respect Sakata for pursuing the love of his life so persistently.

“Tenko should be here by now, I wonder what’s keeping her.”

“Well, I-”

Just then, a slight bustle at the front door caught their attention. Both men tensed, had their targets arrived? But no, Mitsuba had not sounded the signal, the ball of confetti containing the chemical that was supposed to neutralize the target’s power was still intact above them.

“I should check that out,” murmured Kondo

“Yeah, you do that.” Gintoki leaned back against the wall, right index finger already sunk deep into one nostril.

Before Kondo had moved more than a few steps, a figure in white kimono stepped onto the red carpet. The first impression was the heavy girth and expansive waistline, held back modestly by red obi and blue obijime rope that matches the blue swirling pattern…

“Hey! That’s my kimono!” Gintoki cried. Then, he blushed so hard that blood dripped from his nose.

Hijikata Tenko was no great beauty. But, dressed in kimono, her hair combed and put up with a nice pair of chopsticks, a kiseru in hand, and smoke issued in a controlled breath from lips painted red, she exuded _presence_ , like no one else. Gintoki’s heart thumped and he would have fainted if Kondou had not elbowed him in the stomach.

“Hey, watch it.” Gintoki hissed, he glared at Kondou for a moment, but then his eyes slid irresistibly back to where Hijikata Tenko was sailing, yes, sailing like an elegant white ship into the room. All eyes were on her. Not even the best looking woman Gintoki knew had this kind of blatant confidence.

“Hey,” Kondou waved a tissue at him, “you’re drooling.”

Gintoki scoffed, and saliva splattered to the ground. He took the tissue and patted his mouth. Kondou raised his eyebrows, “You know, I never thought that someone like Tenko would be your type.”

Gintoki scowled, “What do you mean? I mean, she’s beyond gorgeous! Look at her!”

Tenko had stopped before the Wall of Handsome Dudes. Piercing blue eyes ran disinterestedly over the faces of men on offer like they were piles of turds on display. Mitsuba was doing her job of welcoming and giving out her standard spiel as Tenko sipped lazily at her kiseru. Gintoki’s eyes zeroed in on the small lips as they closed over the traditional mouthpiece and…Shit, Gintoki thought he might be developing a fetish. A very specific kind of fetish involving kiseru.

Gintoki sighed.

Kondou coughed, “So, ah, you into, ah, plus size girls?”

“My love for Tenko goes beyond the flesh,” said Gintoki grandly. Then, he plucked a rose from a nearby vase, and hurried over to the Wall of Handsome Dudes, deaf to Kondou’s plea to be discreet.

000000

“My lady,” Gintoki slid into view and a red rose bobbed in front of Hijikata.

“… …”

Gintoki grinned, “How about letting me show you a good time?”

Hijikata made a show of studying him from head to toe, kiseru in the corner of her lips. She blew smoke into the man’s face. “Fine, you’ll do.” she turned to Mitsuba, “I’ll have that one.”  
A thrill ran up Gintoki’s spine as he held out his elbow elegantly. His job as Paako has trained impeccable service manners into him. Hijikata looked mostly bored as she slipped the very tips of her fingers onto Gintoki’s elbow.

“Shall I show you to our table?” Gintoki had to hunch over a little to accommodate Hijikata’s height, but that was alright, it was almost like he was protecting her from all those filthy eyes who dared to stare at his precious.

“I want to have a look around first,” said Hijikata, she did not have the opportunity to study the place earlier and had hoped to use her identity as security to check out the area. Casing the joint, so to speak, if she was a criminal.

“But of course, darling.”

Hijikata eyed the end of the kiseru. While the bowl was made of metal, the flexible bamboo handle did not look very strong. It would be very nice if she could smack Yorozuya with the kiseru, it was borrowed. She considered getting a personal fighting kisaru, 14 inches would do, brass would be the best. She was not very tall, and getting anything longer would look ridiculous…

As Hijikata distracted her murderous self with thoughts of getting government reimbursed weapons disguised as everyday items, she allowed Yorozuya to do all the talking and showing around. Finally, the short tour ended, and they were seated in a very strategic spot where they could see everything before anyone could see them. She allowed herself a nod of approval, “Good job.”

Yorozuya beamed.

It was too dazzling, so Hijikata turned away. She sucked in another lungful of nicotine before saying, “Get yourself one Dom Perignon.”

“But, of course, my darling.”

The hairs on the back of Hijikata’s neck stood up and she shivered. Yorozuya noticed, of course, he fucking did. “Oh my, is my darling cold?” he leaned over, his lips very close to her ear, “shall I warm my darling up?”

Hijikata pressed the bowl of the kiseru to the hand nearest to her. The startled yelp was very satisfying.

Then, the targeted Amanto arrived. Thank fuck.

The confetti ball above them popped open on cue and bits of chemical soaked confetti fell. There was a lot of screaming and pandemonium, which was expected. Hijikata got to shoot people, which was fun. As swords were pulled out and the men flexed their testosterones around, Hijikata sat in her cushy chair like a Buddha with her kiseru. Now and then, she would shoot people in the leg, causing a stumble here, a strategic fall there and tucking her gun away quickly before any of these idiots even spotted her.

That night, the Shinsengumi got the credit of taking down a bunch of terrorist with plans to replace the government heads with fakes. Nice, something that would make the top brass sit up and take Shinsengumi more seriously is always good.

What was not so very nice was their next job.

Well, the job itself was not too bad, some kind of special ops that required quite a bit of covert operations, which the Shinsengumi was good at. What they were not so good at, or at least lacking in, were good fighters that could lead the charge. Kondou-san was obviously their most brilliant fighters, and there’s Sougo. Hijikata could only play support for obvious reasons, but that was not the problem.

Hijikata had already foreseen this issue and make sure that Yorozuya’s crew would be part of Shinsengumi’s miscellaneous expenses. That yato girl was powerful and Yorozuya was no slouch in a fight. As for four eyes, well, he’s gung-ho and filled with testosterones so she was sure she could find a place for him somewhere.

What was not very nice was that they have to work together with another team. The bloody Mimawarigumi.

Whyyyy?

“Bloody, fucking, elitist men!”


	4. Extra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of filler-ish, so it's short

Working with the Mimawarigumi went as well as Hijikata had expected. All authority was ceded to the other group and credit taken by them while the Shinsengumi was stuck with grunt work. The men and women under her charge were not happy, of course. Which was why Hijikata arranged for a party to celebrate the success of the mission at the Shinsengumi barracks, with the Mimawarigumi.

Why do such a thing?

Heheheh, ahahaha.

Please allow Okita Sougo, the resident Sadist with a capital S, to explain.

“We’re going to clear their pockets, wipe out their savings and take all their salaries from now until six months onwards. We’ll put them in so much debt that they could only afford to drink horse piss and count it as a luxury.” Hazel brown eyes looked dead in their eye sockets. “Who’s with me?”

Fists punched the air.

“ _Ou!_ ”

Here’s the thing. You DO NOT bet with a Shinsengumi. Because they play with weighted dice. They get away with it because until now Kondou-san was GENUINELY not aware of what was happening and would defend them with a straight face. Okita Sougo has a cute face which he made use of to go ‘eh?’ when questioned. Okita Mitsuba’s serenity could put Guanyin statues to shame and Hijikata… well, Hijikata’s face was set at perpetual bitch-want-me-to-punch-your-mug level and was the main reason why Shinsengumi was (secretly) filthy rich.

Generally, the betting formula goes like this:

Okita: Hey, Mimawari-goon-san, I bet XXX yen that you can’t __insert whatever dumb thing__ better than our resident pig.

Mimawari-goon: Oh yeah, here’s XXXX yen says I can.

Okita: Really, you’re too dumb, don’t you know our vice-commander is an ace?

Other goons: Oh yeah? We bet our comrade could win!

Shinsengumi: *Fake outrage* How dare you? We’re betting too!

Hijikata wins whatever stupid challenge they made up and the Shinsengumi smirk into their hands.

Somehow, these people were dumb enough to fall for it time and again. Although to be fair, no one would have imagined that Hijikata-san was actually that powerful, flexible, good with a gun (they all thought it was all a rumour, lol), or has the powerful core muscle to pull that move off. Even without Hijikata though, there were plenty of other ways to win.

The girls under Yamazaki and Iida were a very diverse bunch. Most of the time they acted as background cheerers, egging the Mimawari-goons on. Other times, they would be called in to fulfil a bet. ‘Kyaa, but I don’t know…’ and then trash their opponents.

At the end of the day, they would count out their spoils of war in Hijikata’s room/office and money would be split according to a pre-approved percentage. It was a wonderful system.

What does Hijikata do with her share?

Hehe, no one really knew. Not even Sougo knows where most of Hijikata’s money went or even came from. Though he had to admit, Hijikata never seemed to run out of it. Having lots of money meant better weapons, good concealed weapons, comfortable uniforms, good food, nice barracks, nicely decorated garden done in the zen manner to relax in.

Though the Demon Pig of Shinsengumi was strict, she was also generous. Part of the reason why people like Harada and Yamazaki still stuck around. The ratio of men and women in Shinsengumi was around 65/35. Though the number did not seem very high, considering that Mimawarigumi has a grand total of one female who might as well be a robot assassin while the rest of the police forces has was... none, 35% was unprecedentedly high. Most of the women were officially posted under internal investigation and spies. Okita Mitsuba was unusual in that she led the First Division with Okita Sougo as vice-captain.

Part of the reason for this number was the fact that Shinsengumi has fewer people in their group. Though the benefits were good, they had trouble with recruitment. Not many men were willing to work under women, especially not for an overbearing, powerful and, let’s face it, bordering on obese woman like Hijikata. That flushed out a lot of the riff raff, leaving those really loyal to Kondou-san or men who thought they might have a chance of scoring it with a Shinsengumi chick. Luckily, those idiots tend to resign very, very quickly.

In short, the Shinsengumi don’t get along well with the standard men of Edo. 

Therefore, when a certain Itou Komatarou came into the picture, it all nearly went to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I could fill in the blanks of what the Shinsengumi did to win bets, but maybe next time. Lol.
> 
> This is kind of filler-ish.


	5. The Scholar Warrior

Itou Komatarou, highly educated and admired by Kondou Isao. Greatly respected by the men and women of Shinsengumi when he was first brought in by Kondou-san. Hijikata Tenko watched idly as the men oohed and aahed over luggage that had been sent ahead as gifts by the man of the hour. There were weapons of all kinds, katana, short knives, guns and bazooka were all strewn about as men, and the girls, quarrelled over it.

She lit up her cigarette and turned her mind over the matter at hand. Itou Komatarou, brilliant, brittle and too full of himself. Tch, Kondou-san is too soft-hearted sometimes.

“Oho, what is Vice-Commander doing here? Aren’t you going to fetch yourself something too?” Okita Sougo appeared from beside her. He was listening to music from that absurd sword handle of his. It really offended Hijikata’s need to properly slot things into boxes. A weapon is a weapon, not a bloody music instrument or-

“Ou! Look out, I’m cleaning the floor now!”

No words could describe her feelings as Kondou-san ran past her with his modified katana, going guru-guru with the roller tape at the end. The fact that it cost three times as much as Sougo’s absurd music producing katana made her want to destroy something so bad.

“It’s kind of funny, isn’t it?”

“The second-hand embarrassment is killing me.”

“Look, they have the sniper guns and handguns too.” Okita tipped his head to the side. “Manufactured by Tsukasa-14 I’ve always liked stuff from them.” He smiled ghoulishly at Tenko, “I like their split missile bazooka.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

The crew soon disappeared to crow over their loot. Itou Komatarou certainly knew how to buy his way into people's hearts. Not that she was above doing the same thing, but Hijikata liked to think that she was more subtle about it. Most of the handguns had been picked out by the girls. Yamazaki scooted away with one katana and a small ankle pistol. To be honest, tiny pistols like that were little more than toys to Hijikata. She supposed she could stash one between her boobs… now there’s an idea…

There were only empty boxes left after the men and women of Shinsengumi ransacked them, and the ones containing guns have the words Tsukasa-14 stencilled on the side. She tapped a finger on the holster of her gun as she stared at the neatly stencilled words, a nervous tic whenever she was thinking.

“Problem?”

“Maybe, I hope I’m overthinking it.”

“Your porcine instincts have always been on point, I think it’s the prey animal inside you.”

“Shut up, you half-pint S.”

They bickered amiably for the rest of the day. The man himself, Itou Komatarou appeared just after lunchtime. Probably couldn’t bring himself to eat with the masses, though Hijikata uncharitably.

“Hijikata-san. Good-day.”

Hijikata grunted a reply and lit another cigarette. Kondou-san more than made up for her taciturnity and enthusiastically welcome the man of the hour. Even the girls were crowding around and thanking the kind sensei for gifting them the pistols.

As the party atmosphere continued, Itou Komatarou suddenly came over to sit before Hijikata. Hijikata had chosen to sit at the end of the table to get away from the crowd, so she was not appreciating this intrusion.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Can’t I give my fellow comrade a souvenir?”

Hijikata studied the man for a moment, then she smiled and leaned over, “Sure.”

She did _not_ imagine that flinch of disgust.

To his credit, Itou Komatarou managed to maintain his civility and placed an exquisitely carved wooden box before her. The box was chestnut brown, inlaid with mother-of-pearl in the pattern of a blooming chrysanthemum and looked very exquisite. Hijikata went still at the sight of it.

Itou Komatarou slid the box over to her. “Please accept this.”

Hijikata touched the box. The sensitive pads of her fingers trace the chrysanthemum petals. The inlaid mother-of-pearl was so well done that she could barely feel where forest and sea product joined. The contrast was very beautiful. Silvery, almost translucent colours glowed even brighter against the dark chestnut. The box did not only looked good, it smelled good too.

The box was exactly 2 inches high and just large enough to contain either two small handguns or one standard handgun. She’s betting on the latter. There was a latch in front, done in muted brass to blend in with the wood. She unlatched it with a crisp click. The hinge opened without a sound.

Laid within green velvet was a standard size handgun with a very distinctive mother-of-pearl inlaid grip. The barrel was glossy, almost oily looking and very, very finely made. She picked the pistol out of the box and weigh it in her hand. The balance was perfect. She checked the chamber out of habit and tested the sight. It was all very, very nice.

“A Lady Kiku,” she said, noting the look of surprise in Itou’s eyes. “There aren’t many in the market, so of course I’d know about it.”

“Of course,” the nod was just shy of mocking. Though she had proven it time and again, it was somehow impossible for men to believe that she could outshoot them and their entire squad anytime.

“A very generous souvenir,” she said lazily. “I accept.”

Itou Komatarou smiled, Hijikata smiled back with all the manners beaten into her since birth. 

She then pointed the muzzle of the gun right at Itou’s head. The man’s smile froze on his face. There were no bullets in the chamber, both of them knew that. However, there was no controlling the instinctive fear that comes with having a weapon pointed at your face.

The click that went off sounded loud even in the noisy mess hall.

Itou Komatarou swallowed. He sweated.

Hijikata popped open the chamber again. Standard size, as expected. Capable of holding 15 rounds, including the one in the barrel. She began to load it. “Do you know,” she said conversationally, as her fingers smoothly push the bullets into the chamber, “there are actually a lot of imitation Lady Kiku in the market?”

“Oh?”

The man’s voice did not waver, Hijikata had to give him some credit for that.

“It’s a very expensive gun after all, and one that Shogun himself favours.” She checked the sights again before grinning at Itou around the cigarette between her teeth.

“Shall we take her for a spin?”

000000

The Shinsengumi shooting range was out of doors and took up half of the entire barrack in terms of land space. However, it was not all wasted since they could still use the place for exercises and sparring sessions when it was not being repurposed for firearms practice.

One could say that this impressive flat space smack right in the middle of Edo was a luxury like no other in this land-scarce place. This plot of land fuelled rumours of Shinsengumi being a favoured branch of the Bakufu whenever business was slow among those elite politicians. Of course, the fact that there were women here meant that they were often compared with Yoshiwara’s Courtesan of Death. Whatever, have you seen that woman? Hijikata considered it a compliment.

She had no issue dealing with Tsukuyo. They have an understanding. Neither would poach the girls from either side and Hijikata has a couple of girls in charge of a special hotline for emergency calls from Yoshiwara. Abuse, medical emergency, hell, someone to talk to was game. Iida was plump and motherly looking, and their main contact with Yoshiwara. That’s part of how they got their intel from what most government officials would consider an information black hole within Edo.

When Hijikata and Itou left for the shooting range, a few others had followed out of curiosity, attracted by the shiny new gun. The girls were especially enamoured. It was pretty, it was shiny, and most importantly, it shoots people.

Even Hijikata could understand the appeal.

Some of the guys had run ahead to set up the shooting target. Hijikata liked the boys in Shinsengumi. Most of them were either dead loyal to Kondo-san (the Okitas) or were too weird to be anywhere else (Saitou) or trying to score with one of the girls (Yamazaki and Harada). Eh, whatever, people are motivated by different things, as long as things get done, she doesn’t really care what they do in their free time.

When they arrived at the shooting range, five targets had been prepared. Instead of the featureless bullseye, the Shinsengumi liked to use targets featuring human silhouette. 

“Would you like to try it out first?” Hijikata offered the gun to Itou.

Itou declined, as expected. The man favours his sword, and unlike Sasaki, believes that his intellectual prowess is more than enough to crush his enemies. Personally, Hijikata liked to keep her options open.

“Your loss,” she tsked. Hijikata maintained eye contact with Itou as she raised her gun.

All 15 shots were discharged so quickly they sounded like it came from a semi-automatic weapon. Hijikata lowered the gun.

Someone shouted, “Range is cold!”

The five human silhouettes were pulled over through a series of pulley systems. All five were still smoking at the forehead where they had been shot multiple times. Hijikata grinned, “Nice gun. I’ll put it to good use.”

“Yes, do that.” Itou Komatarou cleared his throat. “Then, I shall return to the party.”

Hijikata lit up a cigarette, “You do that.”

She watched the man leave. The girls flocked over to admire the gun. The shooting without looking stunt was something that she had done plenty of times that most of them were inured to it by now.

Hijikata’s eyes flicked up as Sougo approached. “Nice toy.” Okita’s voice was flat.

“Very nice,” Hijikata said as it was passed around reverently among the pistol nuts of Shinsengumi. “There is just one problem.”

“Oh?”

“I sold that gun six months ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought that Itou's character had not been fully explored, so I'd like an opportunity here for Hijikata to confront Itou fully without being compromised by Tosshi. Sorry, Tosshi.


	6. Demon Girl of Bushu

Okita stilled. He has a way of being still that reminded Hijikata of intelligent predators. A gliding eagle, a waiting cheetah, a lurking thing that could explode into motion at any second.

Blink, and you’re dead.

She stood up and put away the pistol to the chorus of ‘awws’ from the audience. “Go party,” she said, “I need to do some paperwork.”

The best thing to do now was to track down the invoice for that shipment of weapons that included the Lady Kiku. Unfortunately, she can’t do that here, since all related documents were… elsewhere, but she could dig up cases of missing firearms shipment ranging from six months ago until now and check their report.

She has her answer less than half an hour later, having a good filing system always pays.

“Call Okita over,” she said to Yumi, the girl standing by to do her bidding for the day.

“Yes,” Yumi ran off, her perky ponytail bouncing behind her. The girls who stood at attention at Hijikata’s office has a shift, though god knows how it works. She had looked into it once, and apparently it was a privilege to be her lackey for a day. So much so that the girls would often make bets to see who would get the job of standing around waiting to carry out her orders and bring her tea and cigarettes. It was kind of cute.

Okita sauntered over, his ears still plugged to that stupid katana of his. Bloody pretentious bastards the lot of those samurai men. Whatever. Ignoring the desire to rip those earphones out, she turned the casefile over to the little sadist. It did not take long for that odd, predatory stillness to wash over Okita.

“Want me to kill him?”

Hijikata tapped a finger on the Lady Kiku gun case. “I’m considering it.”

“Consider no more.”

“Sougo,”

“Why not?”

“There are complications.” She stared straight into those soft hazel eyes, now practically spitting with anger.

“Tch.”

“Let’s take our time and observe for the moment, warn Yamazaki. He’ll talk to the girls.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m serious, leave that bastard’s neck on for the moment.” she tapped her finger against the box. “I have plans for it.”

Sougo bashed his fist over the case file. His voice was very calm, however, when he said, “I’m serious too, you know?” This time, when he looked up at Hijikata, his eyes showed a trace of bloodlust and insanity. “Are you going to tell me your plan?”

“You won’t like it.”

“I never liked any of your plans.”

“Deal with it.” Hijikata got to her feet and pushed her hair back as she lit the cigarette at her lips.

“Bloody merchant,” Sougo said, “it’s all a numbers game for you, isn’t it?”

Hijikata blew out a line of smoke. “There’s more to business than numbers, otherwise every bloody mathematician in the galaxy would be billionaires. Like I said, I prefer to have that person alive, for now.”

“For now,” Okita Sougo’s eyes were very piercing. “Why?”

Hijikata smiled an enigmatic smile. Instead of answering, she collected the case file, threatening to put out her cigarette on Sougo’s fist when he refused to remove it from her papers. Only after everything was properly collected, signed, stamped and filed away did she stood up for a stretch.

“Dinner time,” she yawned.

Sougo, who had been sleeping, or pretending to sleep with that absurd eye mask over his face, turned to her.

“Pig, trust you to remember dinner.”

“You’re welcome to sustain yourself with the spirit of samurai.” she said flippantly, heading towards her cupboard for a change of clothes. “I’m going to take a shower first, I’ll see you at the mess hall.”

Sougo knew he had been dismissed and rolled over to sulk. Then, he bounded up and dashed towards the dojo to beat up some of the more junior members. The girls, some of them closer to their 30s, but were all considered ‘girls’ by Hijikata were exercising and training a little apart from the men. Women are not very strong compared to men, that’s a fact of life. However, there was no stopping them from going for core training, stealth training and how to get-the-fuck-out-of-a-bad-situation training lead by Mitsuba.

Sougo’s earliest memory of Hijikata was when she had been carried in on a stretcher into the dojo grounds. There had been an accident of some sort at a nearby mansion and most of the people were frightened of letting the Demon Girl into their homes. Kondo-san was the only one who did not bat an eye when he opened up the gates of the dojo under the protests of Kanchou.

At that time, his strongest impression of Hijikata had been of a blood covered, shell-shocked girl.

For days after that, she would only lie on the futon and not move or speak as Mitsuba, the only girl around, took care of her. Sougo remembered feeling resentful against the girl for making his frail sister wait on her hand and foot. Hijikata spent most of her day staring at the ceiling, doing nothing.

He remembered thinking that, for someone known as the Demon Girl, Hijikata Tenko was very weak and not at all scary.

It was not until much later that he realized the true horror of Hijikata Tenko’s power.

When the girl finally deigned to move, she had already been at the dojo for a full week. Enough time had passed for Kanchou to make noise about harbouring a burden within his dojo. Hijikata Tenko had woken up from her stupor and was finally a contributing member of the society by proving herself to be efficient with household matters and money management. She was very good at appearing straight forward, polite, well-mannered and helpful, just like Mitsuba.

However, that was just her shell. Inside, Hijikata Tenko housed numerous demons.

After three weeks of being the image of purity and helpfulness, Hijikata approached Kondo-san and politely asked to be trained with weapons. She made a pitifully touching speech about women defending themselves or some other such rot that caused Kondo-san’s eyes to overflow with tears and agreed to show her a few pointers.

Personally, Sougo would not have bothered himself over a small thing like that. Kondo-san could drag whomever he wanted into the dojo, but then the woman began to dominate Kondo-san’s attention.

It was always, ‘Kondo-san, I don’t understand this,’ or ‘Kondo-san, is it alright if I-’ or ‘Kondo-san, what do you think of this-’

It low-key irritated Sougo, but it was not until that woman dragged Mitsuba into her schemes that Sougo lost it.

As the only two women in the dojo, they shared rooms and spent a lot of time together. It was inevitable, really. The women would take walks together and spend their time gardening and doing other typical womanly past time like sewing and washing clothes by the river. Sougo never even began to suspect something was wrong until he found Mitsuba wading into a stream, the water up to her knees and wetting the bottom of her kimono as Hijikata Tenko fired a modified bow and arrow into the stream and held up a large trout over her head in victory.

They had been having a lot of fresh fish lately, and no one thought to question where the women were getting them.

“Aniue!” he screamed, horrified to see his frail sister with her feet in the cold autumn stream. “Come back out!”

“Sougo!” Mitsuba called back, waving more energetically at him then he had ever seen her did before. “Look at what Tenko caught.”

Sougo gritted his teeth. He charged forward and pushed Hijikata into the stream. Well, he tried to anyway, the water reached up to his waist where Hijikata was standing and the girl hauled him out of the water by the back of his kimono with just one hand. Now, Sougo knew he was young, and therefore smaller and lighter than the rest of the men at the dojo, but the ease in which Hijikata Tenko lifted him out of the water, sopping wet mind you, struck him as strange.

“Yo,” she said, her voice slipping into its country accent, a far cry from her proper way of speaking, “look what ah caught, Mitsuba,”

“Aniue!” Sougo kicked his heels. He wanted to protest. He wanted to scream and shout for his sister to get out of the water.

Then…

Mitsuba laughed. A loud, throaty, full-bellied laugh that he had never heard in his life. Mitsuba never laughed, she couldn’t. At best, she would smile, perhaps chuckle a little because her lungs could not take it.

It was a defining moment for Okita Sougo. The moment where he swore, that as long as it benefitted his sister, Okita Sougo would swear allegiance to the Demon Girl of Bushu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter up, hehe. But we do get a glimpse of Tenko's past. 
> 
> I've been a bit busy lately with my translation work. If you love cooking and eating, come check out The Feast at kitchennovel.com ~


	7. The Demon Girl of Bushu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to know a bit more about Tenko's past. Also, an introduction of a rarepair.

The incident with Mitsuba was not the first of Hijikata Tenko’s schemes, nor was it the end of it. Okita Sougo was no slouch in the brain department, but he was a mere child then, and the 5 gap of experience between them was like a chasm.

Sougo recognised Hijikata as a threat and did his best to investigate into the Demon Girl’s background after the incident with his sister. Nevertheless, a child, there was nothing he could do beyond keeping his eyes peeled and his ears opened. It was astounding how much information one could amassed when they actually paid attention.

Hijikata Tenko only ever spoke politely in the presence of men. Okita Sougo was covered under the ‘children’ category and therefore was privy to insights not available to others at the dojo. At first, he believed it was out of deference that Tenko showed politeness to her betters, but then he saw it.

The smile that slashed across Hijikata’s face when she lowered her head was like a sword wound when she gently threatened Kanchou.

In her defence, Kanchou was a traditionalists of the worst sort. He hadn’t even want Mitsuba around on the grounds that ‘no women should be admitted into the sacred training area for men’. It was only after Mitsuba promised to work and pull her own weight and take care of Sougo that he finally relented.

It wasn’t until he was much older that Sougo finally understood just how much Mitsuba must have sacrificed for him. His sister was always so proper, always so put together and just… there that he only felt the lack when she was no longer around to pamper him. Looking back, Mitsuba was always busy with some small tasks. Their room was always clean, their clothes washed and mended, everything was just… done.

It was not until he saw Mitsuba singing to herself and skipping over rocks in the garden that Okita Sougo finally realised that he never saw his sister behaving so casually in his short life. For some time after that, he resented Hijikata Tenko for bringing out this irresponsible side of his sister, how was she going to marry in the future if she behave like this?

A woman’s ultimate happiness is marriage to a good man, right?

This was something that Sougo had believed. That Mitsuba will one day get married and be happy. After all, a woman’s true happiness was marriage and children, right?

No real woman would choose to live in a barracks with other smelly men, right?

Okita Sougo was intelligent enough to only hold on to that belief for another year after Mitsuba was made 1st Division Captain of the Shinsengumi.

Right now, he was staring at Mitsuba from the corner of his eyes. She looked… happy. That was all that mattered to him. They were in the mess hall now and, contrary to its name, it was very neat and organized. A big contrast to the rowdy party scene earlier. The officers were seated together, allowing the juniors to relax with their food and giving them time to bond the bosses looking on.

That meant that Hijikata, Sougo, Mitsuba, Kondo, Harada and Itou were all seated together at one table as the special action force. Saitou and the rest of the other team captains, like Iida and Yamazaki were seated at another table. Everything was nicely sectionalized. Of course, there was nothing official about it, not with Kondo-san’s ability to get along with everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Itou Komatarou’s smile looked very stiff as Kondo-san thumped him happily on the back and pressed more sake onto the man. There was nothing immediate for anyone to do, except for Yamazaki and Iida, so Hijikata allowed the slight rowdiness. Also, it clearly amused her to see Itou’s suffering. It amused Okita too, but appearances had to be kept up.

“Can you smirk less obviously?” Okita said in a bored voice.

“This is my resting bitch face, can’t you tell?” Hijikata smirked into her saucer of sake. It took a lot to get her even a little tipsy, Okita was very envious of this.

“Vice-commander, you looked happy today, did something good happened?” Mitsuba said amiably.

“Actually, yes.” Hijikata nodded at Yumi, who scrambled off to fetch something from the office, “I just received the next test batches from Sauce Kingdom.”

The normally serene Captain of the 1st Division suddenly perked up. “It has?”

Just then, Yumi ran back into the mess hall with two plain cardboard boxes. She placed them on the officers table before retreating back to sit with her fellow juniors, making sure to keep her line of sight to Hijikata open. Good girl, thought Hijitaka, that woman will go far.

Mitsuba actually clapped her hands before eagerly reaching for one of the boxes. It opened to reveal two rows tiny bottles. There were 10 neat little sauce bottles contained some sort of red liquid and labelled only with A, B, C and so forth up to J could be seen.

“These are-?” Itou frowned at the box curiously.

“Sample sauces from the Sauce Kingdom,” said Mitsuba as she eagerly opened Bottle A and gave it a gentle sniff before sighing as though she had been given a brief whiff of Nirvana.

Itou peered into the box, and saw a piece of paper tucked into the side. It opened up to show a table with A, B, C etc on top and on the side was… scent, colour, texture, remarks…

“Is this… some kind of questionnaire?” Itou asked.

“Oh yes, I get a box of Sauce Kingdom’s prototype hot sauce every couple of months or so,” she touched her little finger to the mouth of the bottle and licked the tip.

Neither Sougo nor Hijikata missed the way Itou Komatarou’s eyes dilated.

Sougo’s hand flew to the handle of his katana. The blade was three inches out of its scabbard before Hijikata slapped her hand over his elbow, blocking him from drawing the sword out.

“Pig…” Sougo said warningly.

Hijikata was not phased, “Look again.”

Okita Mitsuba held up the bottle to Itou’s nose, the man flinched back and began to cough. However, that was not what caught their attention. Mitsuba was laughing, her large eyes squinted shut as she laughed unabashedly at Itou’s suffering.

Hijikata could feel Sougo’s hand tremble. “Keep looking.”

Itou Komatarou soon got himself back under control, he sneezed twice and sniffled into his hand.

“Here,” Mitsuba handed a tissue over to Itou, who took it with an embarrassed nod. The red on his cheeks deepened.

The sword slid back into its sheath with a soft click.

Sougo settled back onto his seat. He did not take his eyes off Mitsuba. “Hijikata-san,” he said softly. “You’re a monster.”

Hijikata smirked.

“Every person has their price.”

Dinner proceeded fairly normally after that little outburst. The box with their deadly condiments was tucked safely on Mitsuba’s lap. Every now and then, she would caressed it fondly like a favoured pet.

Itou, of course, did not miss the fact that there were two boxes delivered onto their table. “What’s in the other one?” he asked, when curiosity finally got the better of him.

“It’s Tenko-chan’s mayonnaise samples.” Mitsuba said, happiness made her drop all formalities.

“Oh?”

“Tenko-chan and I are connoisseurs,” she declared proudly. “The Sauce Kingdom gives us the samples, and in return we give them objective and intelligent comments. Clearly, our opinions are very valuable which is why they keep sending free samples and prototypes to us. They used to give us 20 boxes of all kinds of hot sauce and mayonnaise but it got fewer and fewer because some people,” here, she made a quick sweeping stare at the rest of the room, “just could not take the time to properly taste and record their objective impression of these wonderful condiments.”

Men and women alike suddenly flattened themselves to the floor and shouted, “We are very, very sorry for out terrible incompetence!”

Even Kondo-san was not immune to The Disapproving Stare. 

Hijitaka and Itou were the only upright people within the room, aside from Mitsuba.

When Itou’s questioning eyes met hers, Hijikata drawled, “I’m very serious and objective when it comes to condiment sampling.”

“Ahem, ah, I see,” the man was clearly trying to change the subject. It was so amusing to see him flounder like this. “Have you… known each other long?”

“We came from the same village,” Mitsuba said cheerfully. “Why, all of us at this table are from Bushu. That is, all of us aside from you, of course, Itou-san.” She blushed..

It was almost painful to see Mitsuba so awkward. Hijikata pre-emptively flicked Sougo on the elbow.

“Tch,”

“Mitsuba is our dojo’s beauty, of course!” Kondo-san immediately jumped into the conversation. “We have two beauties there, Mitsuba and Tenko!”

It was hilarious to see Itou try to control the corner of his lip from curling up into an automatic sneer.

“Tenko is the great beauty of our dojo!” Mitsuba jumped in, happy to talk about her favourite subject. “Those piercing blue eyes and white skin. That’s really rare you know? She was on advertisement posters at 10! I never even had a picture taken until I was almost 16.”

“Ahem,” Hijikata said the word the way it was spelt. ‘Ah-hem’. “Drop the subject, Mitsuba.”

“Ah, but Tenko-chan~”

“Drop it.” Hijikata allowed herself to look away and added, “Please?”

“Oh, but, of course. I-itou-san, have I ever told you of how I, how I became a captain of the Shinsengumi?”

“No, I had wondered actually.” Itou’s expression looked torn between disapproving and admiration.

“It’s all down to Tenko-chan, of course!”

“Of course it is,” Itou’s smile was more like a grimace.

Mitsuba turned up her large eyes at Itou, “You don’t approve?”

“Ah, no, no, I mean-”

“It’s fine, I get it all the time. I know I’m not as strong or charismatic as Tenko-chan, but I do have my good points, you know?” she looked a little hurt.

Hijikata tightened her hold on Sougo’s elbow.

“I-I’m sure Okita-san is very capable.”

“That’s alright, you don’t have to flatter me,” her voice took on a patronizing, authoritative tone. “Women belonged only in the kitchen and in the bedroom and nowhere else.”

It was a perfect impression of their previous dojo’s Kanchou-san. Hijikata bared her teeth almost instinctively.

The men at the table looked uncomfortable. How could this be true when half of the Shinsengumi forces were made up of women in active duty? Though the higher ups might not see it, any intelligent people knew that Hijikata Tenko was the true power behind Shinsengumi. Take her away and the whole group would collapsed faster than wet tissue with the capable people abandoning ship to follow her or sink into oblivion.

It was time to hand out the first olive branch, “Now, now, Mitsuba. As a man of great learning, Itou-sensei of all people would understand that a person’s strength is more than the status they are born into.” She smiled kindly, “It’s true that women have a harder time getting acknowledgement, but isn’t it all worth it when we are acknowledge by worthy men?”

Sougo snorted softly by her side. However, she knew that he was paying close attention to Itou.

“Th-that’s right, Okita-san.” Itou Komatarou sounded very proper as he said, “I cannot speak for others, but anyone who would dismissed what you have achieved, whether by yourself or with the help of friends are nothing but jealous ignoramus who don’t deserve to be spit on when on fire.”

Mitsuba giggled. She actually giggled. Hijikata flicked an eye at Sougo’s expression. Ahem, not good.

“Itou-sensei is so funny!”

Hijikata stood up, “Well, I’m done for the day. Sougo, see me in the office. Oh, you might as well carry my box on the way.”

“Ah, but Tenko-chan,” Kondou protested.

“I’m sorry, but I do have a lot of work.” She smiled politely at the man. Kondou was someone she owed her loyalty and respect to. She was not blind to his faults, but she was not so ungrateful as to just make use of the man and abandon him later when her goals were achieved. He was the key to her getting out of Bushu and landing this very cushy position. The current status quo was good for her, and was about to become even better. All thanks to Kondo-san.

Right ow, she had to make sure that Sougo did not kill Itou Komatarou. That man was too valuable to lose. For now.

Hijikata was taking a risk turning her back to Sougo, but the young man was used to following along with her schemes even when he was doubtful of them. She knew that he resented her, but she was the reason why his sister was alive and well. Though her tactics were odd and doubtful, they work.

He would not go against a direct order from her.

Probably.

Eh, whatever, if Itou ends up dead, Mitsuba will be sad. Hijikata could use this information to blackmail Sougo into taking Itou Komatarou’s spot in her schemes. Serve the brat right for being so hasty. Tenko had always favoured the Xanatos Gambit. It pays to have a plan for which all foreseeable outcomes benefitted her, including possible ‘failures’.

Still, it wouldn’t do to aggravate the sadist too much. Let’s sooth him a little.

“Come, sit.”

The look Sougo was giving her was not strong enough to be called a glare, but it was certainly not positive. Hijikata sat down first and gestured for the young man to sit. Sougo narrowed his eyes, but sat down.

“Well?”

Hijikata lit a cigarette and savoured the nicotine hit. She smirked, her voice sinking into a rough country drawl, “So, you wanna to know my plan?”

000000

Hijikata Tenko was not to be trusted.

Okita Sougo could feel this instinctively down to his bones. She was the daughter of a rich farmer and a beautiful dancer, sold to a brothel at a young age by her father’s wife after both parents died. He has some idea what kind of situation she might have grown up in. He had investigated her past after all, that one time he took a holiday to ‘visit the hot springs’ but really snoop around her past.

He already knew the general outline of her reputation as Demon Girl of Bushu, a vicious girl who killed her foster father and arranged the death of her foster brother. No one could prove it, though there were people who swore up and down that she had knifed said foster brother to death. Sougo doubted that last bit. The knifing was real, but it was done too messily for it fit Hijikata’s modus operandi. Plus, the boy had been left alive when what passes for local police force came to investigate. The young man, 18, had succumb to his wounds just two days later, leaving the Daizo fortune to one young girl.

The young man was about 14 when Hijikata was taken in by Daizo at 11. Just one year before she was required to ‘serve customers’ at the local brothel. From all accounts, Tenko has a fairly bright future before her. If a future in selling one’s body and talents could be called ‘bright’. She was brilliant, she was talented, and in looks alone, she could potentially rival the best beauties in Kyoto or Edo.

No one was entirely sure why Daizo had taken a brothel girl in, one that was not even at child birthing age. Even if Daizo were the type to like younger girls, there were other, cheaper pretty girls around. Rumour has it that Hijikata had threatened the man into taking her in. Which was ridiculous, because no matter how brilliant Hijikata had been, she was still an 11 year old back then and Daizo himself was no slouch either. A grown man should not have been threatened by a mere slip of a girl, no matter how brilliant

Regardless the reason, Hijikata was bought out of the brothel and became one of Daizo’s foster kids.

Daizo had no other living heirs. He was a self-made man with two foster children. Takeshi and Tenko. Known as the Merchant of Death, he sold weapons and hit it rich during the warring era. He had no children of his own, only an apprentice whom he took in as a foster son to eventually inherit his business, and the Demon Girl of Bushu.

That’s right, Hijikata’s foster father was a gun merchant.

Muskets, mini canons, revolvers, all the latest were sold by Daizou. When the war was over and laws were erected to prevent people from carrying swords, Daizo switched his target market to civilians. Being a brilliant marketer, he made used of his foster daughter’s cute face, frail looking oerson and started a campaign with the caption: Even Girls Could Wield Guns.

In the beginning, Hijikata Tenko was only known as ‘A Country Girl from Bushu’ in the posters. As a marketing attempt to show just how user friendly the weapons were, there were a lot of close ups on how Hijikata held various pistols close to her face and firing at targets. Then, Daizo began dabbling into video commercials and the marketing campaign eventually segue into how-to videos.

Shots of a guileless face girl assembling and disassembling guns, giving little talks on how to aim and shoot. Then, somehow, it became videos of the girl decimating smaller and smaller targets set further and further away. The soft, guileless smile eventually transformed into grim face focus. The later posters featured a lot of close-ups on intense blue eyes frowning down scopes or smirking triumphantly at demolished targets.

It was one video that cemented her reputation as the Demon Girl of Bushu. A hunting demonstration. Hijikata was followed by a drone camera while she was tracking down a deer. Her lithe body clad in men’s outfit as she followed deer tracks. Shooting a deer was bloody, but not something too traumatic for a hunting video, but what freaked people out was the unexpected appearance of a wild boar.

Somehow, Hijikata managed to keep her wits about her as she calmly fired one shot after another into the charging boar’s head. Unfortunately, the boar was more enraged than hurt by the shots. Undaunted, Hijikata withdrew a short sword from her belt, held out her spent gun by the barrel, and somehow managed to lure the beast into charging at her and leaping out the way just in time for the boar to knock itself silly into a tree.

Then, young girl Hijikata leapt into the air, her braids flying and she plunged the short sword right into the boar’s neck. The ensuing blood spray covered her face and arms. The camera drone captured the blood stained smile of the Demon Girl of Bushu, and the footage was seen live by all major hunting and gun affiliated groups.

It was a PR nightmare.

At least, it would have if Daizo had not been in this line of business. Instead, the video became a hit. Hunting suddenly became a popular past time for the idle rich and anything associated with The Merchant of Death and the Demon Girl of Bushu quickly became popular. Father and daughter went everywhere together. The boy apprentice was mostly forgotten, relegated to the background by this demonic duo.

Then, Daizo died.

Some said it was heart attack.

Others believed it was poison.

Personally, Okita was of the opinion that if Daizo had been murdered, the culprit was most likely the boy rather than Hijikata. If nothing else, Okita knew that Hijikata abhor wasting resources, and always pays her debts. For a despicable and scheming merchant, the Demon Girl of Bushu believed heavily in karma. This was evident in the way she took Mitsuba under her wing, and chose to let Kondo-san, of all people, to take up the role as Shinsengumi’s leader.

Not that Kondo-san was a bad person per se, just… not very reliable. However, he was the one who had held out his hand when Hijikata had been down. Mitsuba was favoured by the Demon Girl because of her kind nature. Sougo had personally seen what happened to the people who had wronged her. Kanchou lived in relative luxury now, thanks to Hijikata’s financial investment into his dojo, but he was never allowed to forget just who bankrolled his place. The dojo now housed more women than men, and was where most of their girls go for martial arts lesson before taking up a post with the Shinsengumi or somewhere else.

The once ‘sacred’ dojo grounds was now overrun with women. A brilliant thumb in the nose against patriarchy.

As for the Hijikata family, well, the less said the better. Prisoners probably had better food and clothing than the people who had once sold this bastard daughter into the brothel. In fact, more than a few of the beautiful young sons and daughters had been sold off as indentured servants to pay the family debts. 

Karma indeed.

Okita smirked. He might not like Itou Komatarou, but he was starting to sort of pity him. Unless Hijikata Tenko likes you, it was never a good idea to get rolled up in one of her schemes. He left the Vice-Commander’s office with a smile on his face.

He will take great pleasure carrying out the Demon Pig’s orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was a pity that Mitsuba and Itou died for the development of Hijikata's character. It makes sense for Tenko to do her best to take care of Mitsuba as a fellow female and wanting her to live. As a merchant, she would be less inclined to get into a hissing fit with Itou over 'spirit of samurai' reasons. Also, it makes sense for Mitsuba to be attracted to a man who is brilliant, passionate and just a little bit broken like a certain someone.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I always thought it’s a pity that Mitsuba’s main role was to die. So I included her here as Tenko’s friend. Please note that Tenko might possibly be very different from the original Hijikata due to the gender-biased upbringing as well as her relationships with the other characters. I’ll try to stay true to Hijikata’s core character, but I’d still want to do more than just exchange Hijikata’s pronoun and add fat for comedic effect. 
> 
> The original Tenko is still Hijikata Toshirou in fat because he had been Hijikata Toshirou for at least 2 decades. A girl caught in Hijikata’s position might have to face even more challenges to survive in that patriarchal era.


End file.
